BREAKING NEWS

Cornhole for a Cure scores for research

MARTINSBURG – Teams of local residents interested in playing cornhole participated in the Cornhole for a Cure tournament Saturday and scored big points in the fight against cystic Fibrosis.

The event, held at the Veterans of Foreign Wars picnic grounds off Route 9, was hosted by Cordell’s Crusaders, a nonprofit organization that raises money for cystic fibrosis research. Cystic fibrosis is an inherited disorder that causes a thick mucous buildup to accumulate in the lungs and digestive system, causing complications in breathing and digestion and absorption of food. According to the Cystic Fibrosis foundation website, the disease affects about 30,000 children and adults in the U.S. All proceeds from the event will go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.

Jessica Michael, president of Cordell’s Crusaders, started the organization because her son, Cordell, was born with cystic fibrosis.

“Cordell is eight months old, but he was born with a bowel blockage, so he had to be born at Johns Hopkins. He required surgery when he was three days old, and we found out when he was one week old that he has cystic fibrosis,” Michael said.

Due to complications from Cordell’s surgery, he had to remain in the hospital.

“He had to stay in the hospital for nine weeks. It was a long nine weeks, but we learned a lot about cystic fibrosis while we were there,” Michael said.

Michael said 41 teams were registered to play in the cornhole tournament. The registration fee for each team was $50, which will be donated to cystic fibrosis research. The top three teams received cash prizes, $200 for the first place team, $100 for the second place team and $50 for the third place team.

Michelle and Chris Ross, of team Shucking Awesome, were practicing their throwing before the tournament began.

“We don’t know how good we’ll be, but we’re going to give it a try,” Michelle said. “I work with Jessica (Michael), so I’m doing this in support of her son.”

The Rosses were experiencing difficulty throwing against the wind.

“The bean bag went up, but the wind just carried it off to the side, so that’s going to be challenging,” Michelle said.

Michael and her family are trying to keep a positive attitude in spite of Cordell’s illness.

“We decided that we can’t change it, so we might as well raise some money,” Michael said. “We just embraced it.”